Thomas O. Paine
| Thomas O. Paine | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 3rd Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | |
|
In office March 21, 1969 – September 15, 1970 |
|
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | James E. Webb |
| Succeeded by | James C. Fletcher |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thomas Otten Paine November 9, 1921 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 4, 1992 (aged 70) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Taunton Pearse |
| Alma mater |
Brown University (A.B.) Stanford University (M.S., Ph.D.) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Thomas Otten Paine (November 9, 1921 – May 4, 1992), an American scientist and advocate of Space exploration, was the third Administrator of NASA, serving from March 21, 1969 to September 15, 1970.
During his administration at NASA, the first seven Apollo manned missions were flown, including the first ever manned lunar landing by Apollo 11. Paine was also deeply involved in preparing plans for the post-Apollo era at NASA.
Born in Berkeley, California, Paine attended public schools in various cities and graduated from Brown University in 1942 with an A.B. degree in engineering. In World War II, he served as a submarine officer in the Pacific and in the subsequent Japanese occupation. He qualified as a Navy deep-sea diver and was awarded the Commendation Medal and Submarine Combat Insignia with stars. From 1946-49, Paine attended Stanford University, receiving an M.S. degree in 1947 and Ph.D. in physical metallurgy. During his career, Paine received honorary doctor of science degrees from Brown, Clarkson College of Technology, Nebraska Wesleyan University, the University of New Brunswick, Oklahoma City University, and an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Paine was married to Barbara Helen Taunton Pearse of Perth, Western Australia. They had four children: Marguerite Ada, George Thomas, Judith Janet, and Frank Taunton.
Paine began his career as a research associate at Stanford University from 1947 to 1949, where he made basic studies of high-temperature alloys and liquid metals in support of naval nuclear reactor programs. He joined the General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York, in 1949 as a research associate, where he started research programs on magnetic and composite materials. In 1951, Paine transferred to the Meter and Instrument Department of G.E. in Lynn, Massachusetts, as the manager of materials development, and later as a laboratory manager. Under Dr. Paine's management, this lab received the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Industrial Science in 1956 from the American Association for the Advancement of Science for its work in fine-particle magnet development. From 1958 through 1962, Dr. Paine was a research associate and manager of Engineering Applications at the Research and Development Center of the General Electric Company in Schenectady, N.Y., From 1963 to 1968, Paine was manager of TEMPO, the Center for Advanced Studies of General Electric located in Santa Barbara, California.
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